Phylicia Rashād
Acting
Born: June 19, 1948 (age 78) · Houston, Texas, USA
Highest Rated
Biography
Phylicia Rashad (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress. She was most recently dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University before her three-year contract ended in May 2024. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she has received two Tony Awards as well as nominations for six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992) which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominations in 1985 and 1986. She also played Ruth Lucas on Cosby (1996–2000), and Brenda Glover in Little Bill (1999–2004). She was also Emmy-nominated for her roles in A Raisin in the Sun (2008) and This Is Us (2019–2021). On stage, Rashad became the first Black actress to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, for a revival of A Raisin in the Sun (2004). She won her second Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew (2022). Her other Broadway credits include Into the Woods (1988), Jelly's Last Jam (1993), Gem of the Ocean (2004), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008). She has appeared in various films such as For Colored Girls (2010), Good Deeds (2012), Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), Creed III (2023), and The Beekeeper (2024). She lent her voice to the Disney-Pixar animated film Soul (2020). In the 21st century, she has directed revivals of three plays by August Wilson, in major theaters in Seattle, Princeton, New Jersey; and Los Angeles. She also directed Purpose (play) in its 2024-2025 run at the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway.
Known for
Soul
2020
Grey's Anatomy
2005
Creed
2015
Creed II
2018
The Beekeeper
2024
Creed III
2023
tick, tick... BOOM!
2021
This Is Us
2016
Station 19
2018
Everybody Hates Chris
2005
Psych
2006
A Fall from Grace
2020
Photos (5)
Movies (44)
The Beekeeper
Eloise Parker
Soul
Libba Gardner (voice)
Ruth & Boaz
Naomi
Creed
Mary Anne Creed
Creed III
Mary-Anne Creed
tick, tick... BOOM!
"Sunday" Legend #12
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Grandmother Journey
Creed II
Mary Anne Creed
Just Wright
Ella McKnight
For Colored Girls
Gilda
A Fall from Grace
Sarah
Tour de Pharmacy
Victoria Young
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
Cassandra Hawkins
Frankie & Alice
Edna
The Earth Day Special
Clair Huxtable
The Babysitter's Seduction
Kate Jacobs
Heaven Down Here
Nancy
Black Box
Lillian
A Raisin in the Sun
Lena Younger
Steel Magnolias
Clairee
Good Deeds
Wilimena Deeds
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
2016
Show of Titles
"There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
Our Son
Maya
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
Ma Ponk
The Visit
Dr. Coles
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Eliza
The Old Settler
Elizabeth Barney
Emily & Tim
Emily (Segment 5)
Mickey's 60th Birthday
Disneyland Cleaning Lady
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
Anna Campbell
Gods Behaving Badly
Demeter
David's Mother
Gladys Johnson
The Possession of Michael D.
Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
Polly
Aunt Polly
Free of Eden
Desiree
Change of Plans
Dorothy
Jailbirds
Janice Grant
We're Fighting Back
1981
Polly: Comin' Home!
Aunt Polly
False Witness
Lynne Jacobi
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Narrator (voice)
The Broad Coalition
1972
Dinosaur - Preshow
Dr Helen Marsh
TV Shows (29)
Grey's Anatomy
Nell Timms · 1 eps
Psych
Winnifred Guster · 3 eps
This Is Us
Carol Clarke · 4 eps
Station 19
Pilar · 1 eps
The Good Fight
Renetta Clark · 4 eps
Empire
Diana DuBois · 16 eps
Touched by an Angel
Elizabeth Jessup · 2 eps
The Cosby Show
Clair Huxtable · 197 eps
Sofia the First
Mountain Witch (voice) · 1 eps
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Jane Goodfellow (voice) · 1 eps
Everybody Hates Chris
1 eps
American Playhouse
Mayor Turner · 1 eps
A Different World
Clair Huxtable · 4 eps
The Gilded Age
Elizabeth Kirkland · 5 eps
Blossom
1 eps
Curses!
Georgia (voice) · 10 eps
Reading Rainbow
Narrator (voice) · 1 eps
Little America
Margaret Jean the Queen · 1 eps
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Lady Fulton (voice) · 1 eps
In the House
1 eps
Cosby
Ruth Lucas · 97 eps
Little Bill
Brenda Glover (voice) · 52 eps
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
Jane · 6 eps
David Makes Man
Dr. Woods-Trap · 11 eps
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1 eps
Bull
1 eps
Diarra from Detroit
Vonda · 8 eps
Do No Harm
Dr. Vanessa Young · 13 eps
Inside the Black Box
20 eps
Self / Appearances (18)
Sherri
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Tamron Hall Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
Intimate Portrait
Self · 1 eps
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Emmy Awards
Self · 1 eps
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Self (voice)
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self - Actress
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
Self
Dreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun"
Self
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
Superstars and their Moms
Self
Between the World and Me
Self
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Self
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Self
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
God and the Inner City
Self (voice)